American Idol 9, Mar. 9 – Gap Widening Between Contestants

Crystal Bowersox sings Gimme One Reason and plays along with her electric guitar. It’s interesting to note that Simon is tapping along with his hand on the desk, and that’s a bigger moment than it sounds. The others are jamming right along with him. It’s starts off mellow, then just really kicks in. She’s radio-ready and so unique. She’s not just imitating Tracey Chapman, but applying her own soul to it.

Randy tells her this is what the show is about for him. He loves her, loved that, loved the soul, loved the honesty. He’s a fan and it was hot. Ellen needs new adjectives for Crystal, as she’s sick and tired of saying she’s amazing. She doesn’t know what else to say about her, but it was the best performance of the night.

Kara says this is what they talk about when they say this is about knowing who you are. Every time Crystal, steps up there it’s easy for her, as she knows what to do. It’s a great song choice, more contemporary, and what she’d be doing on her record, making Kara really excited. Simon tells Crystal she is one million billion percent going to be in the top 12 next week. He would say she is definitely the most improved. Now she has confidence and has started to believe in herself, and she’s the one the others have to beat, as it’s hers to lose.

Last up for the night is Lilly Scott singing I Fall to Pieces, as she plays along on the mandolin. While I love Patsy Cline and can appreciate Lilly’s uniqueness, I don’t like the marriage between the two. It’s when she gets into the Phoebe Buffet/Megan Joy territory. However, she is definitely performance-ready. It’s who she is, and it’s not always my cup of tea, but she’s comfortable and doing what’s right for her. But not this song.

Randy loved the mandolin and loved the song and original singer of the song. He felt it was hot tonight and that Lilly was in the zone. Ellen loves her voice and style. She loved her voice, the originality of the style, and loves her. Kara doesn’t know how Lilly did it, but she kind of made Patsy sound current. It was contemporary. Simon thinks she’s brave for choosing a song like that on a night like this. However, what the song didn’t have was the wow factor. It was cute and quirky and plays to what she’s all about, but it could have been a risky thing to do. Next to Ryan she’s much taller than she appears when she’s not next to him.

Two singers that will definitely be back next week, bar none, will be Crystal and Lilly. Simon and Kara are right. They know who they are as performers, and when they’re comfortable, it makes us comfortable. Another probably one staying is Siobhan. She also knows who she is, and in a way, she’s just as unique as Crystal and Lilly. The others all have a chance at going. Lacey was so much better this week, but it could be too late. Didi has a chance at staying as well. She was an early favorite of many, then fell off the charges the past few weeks, yet came back in a big way tonight. The others here just aren’t unique enough. One of either Paige or Katie will definitely be going home, and the other will either be the other of the two, or Katelyn, Didi, or even Lacey.

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